A ceremony took place in Seoul to make the deal official which was attended by OCA director general Husain Al Musallam, Jeongseon County chief Choi Seung-jun and OCA Education Committee chair Fahad bin Jalawi.

Al Musallam said the event was an important step for the development of Olympic education in Asia.

"The Asian Olympic Academy has been a long time in the planning, 20 years, not just the idea but also the manual and the work, but not implemented," said Al Musallam.

"Now this Olympic city of Jeongseon in Gangwon province, Korea came forward to have the base of the Asian Olympic Academy.

"The Asian Olympic Academy will take care of Asian development in education in coordination with the OCA Education Committee and the International Olympic Academy.

"So, I think this signing ceremony is a very important step for the education part.

"It is very good for the future.

"The idea and the work have been more than 20 years and now it has happened."

The Academy is set to open in 2023 with Asian students set to be nominated by their respective National Olympic Committees for a place.

IOC member and Athens 2004 gold medal-winning table tennis player Ryu Seung of South Korea is said to play a key role in setting up the establishment and he was also at the ceremony.

Al Musallam added: "We are moving also to signing an agreement with the International Olympic Academy (IOA) in Greece and this will complement Asia and the IOA together for the benefit of our athletes."

Gangwon hosted the OCA's fourth Asian Winter Games in 1999 before Jeongseon staged Alpine skiing at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.

Jeongseon is also due to hold the Alpine skiing and freestyle moguls events at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2024.